Casey Riordan Millard's "Shark Girl by the River" sculpture, created through the Cincinnati Arts Ambassador Fellowships in 2012, is a hit at its new home in Buffalo.

It was recently acquired by the Albright Knox Museum in Buffalo, N.Y., and gifted to the city of Buffalo as a piece of permanent art. It was officially unveiled by Buffalo dignitaries on Tuesday.

Buffalo News reporter Colin Dabkowski wrote in an article published Thursday that Cincinnati seemed surprised by her departure.

The story quotes Jan Brown Checco, an advocate for the Arts Ambassador Fellowships; Jaime Thompson, education curator at the Contemporary Arts Center, and Millard.

"Shark Girl" is a signature of Millard's work. She sculpts, paints and creates many version of Shark Girl. In July, purchasers of a community-supported art basket at The Carnegie in Covington received a stuffed version of Shark Girl.

Here is what Millard told the Buffalo News: "I am really used to making things and putting them out there and having very little reaction. I think most artists get used to that. It's been so fun to watch it. I've never had anything like this happen."

And what she told the Enquirer Friday: "It was a little sad moving her, but I'm so excited about my first out-of-state (and region!) museum sale. I cannot believe the reception she is getting in Buffalo. Feeling gratitude to Buffalo and to the Cincinnati grant that allowed me to make her in the first place. Proof that the individual artist grant programs do work and allow artists to make huge progress in their careers."

According to Checco, the city grant, which is not part of the 2015 budget, comes with a contract for a specific project that must be fulfilled. Once the project is complete, the artists own their own art or their intellectual property.

You can still have your picture taken with another of Millard's "Shark Girl" sculptures, a smaller version, on the 6th floor of the CAC in the UnMuseum. The CAC has called Oct. 25 "Shark Girl Day" to mark the anniversary of her arrival there.

Send me a picture of you with Shark Girl at and we'll create a photo gallery of those pictures. Email: jengebrecht@enquirer.com